Carrying Forward Our Millennia-old Friendship and Jointly Creating a Better Future

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

I am coming back to Riyadh, bringing with me profound friendship from the Chinese people. I am here to join my Arab friends for the first China-Arab States Summit and the first China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and to pay a state visit to Saudi Arabia. Designed as a trip of building on the past and more importantly, of opening up a better future, the visit will carry forward our traditional friendship, and usher in a new era in China's relations with the Arab world, with Arab states of the Gulf, and with Saudi Arabia.

First, a time-honored friendship that goes back thousands of years

The exchanges between China and Arab states date back more than 2,000 years. The constant streams of caravans along the land Silk Road and the billowing sails along the maritime Spice Road have borne witness to how the Chinese and Arab civilizations interacted with and inspired each other across the Asian continent. It was through these exchanges that Chinese porcelain and paper-making and printing techniques were introduced to the West while Arab astronomy, calendar and medicine went all the way to the East. We have traded goods, sparked innovation, shared ideas, and spread the fruits of cultural exchanges to the rest of the world, leaving a splendid chapter in East-West engagement and mutual learning.

The contacts between China and Arab states of the Gulf are well documented. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Gan Ying, a Chinese emissary, reached the "western seas," namely the Gulf, on his mission to the Roman Empire. This is the first official record of Chinese envoys reaching Arab states of the Gulf. More than 1,200 years ago, an Arab navigator, Abu Obeida, sailed from Sohar Port to the Chinese city of Guangzhou on a legendary journey that was later adapted to the exciting and well-known adventures of Sindbad. In the 1980s, a replica ship named the Sohar retraced the route opened by ancient Arab navigators, connecting the past and present friendly interactions between the two sides.

China and Saudi Arabia have admired each other and conducted friendly exchanges since ancient times. The prophet Muhammad said, "Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China." Seven hundred years ago, Wang Dayuan, a Chinese traveler of the Yuan Dynasty, arrived at Mecca which he described as a place with beautiful sceneries, mild weather, fertile rice fields, and a happy people in his book A Brief Account of Islands. It was an important book from which the Chinese learned about Saudi Arabia at that time. Six hundred years ago, Zheng He, a Chinese navigator of the Ming Dynasty, reached Jeddah and Medina on his oceangoing voyages, leaving behind him many stories of friendship and exchanges that are still widely told today. The joint Chinese-Saudi archaeological excavation of the ruins of the al Serrian port conducted in recent years has unearthed many porcelain wares of China's Song and Yuan dynasties. They stand as testaments to all those friendly interactions.

Second, solidarity and cooperation for a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era

The Arab world is an important member of the developing world and a key force for upholding international fairness and justice. The Arab people value independence, oppose external interference, stand up to power politics and high-handedness, and always seek to make progress. Arab states are endowed with diverse resources, and have built industries with distinctive features, scored remarkable achievements in development, and demonstrated enormous potentials. The Arab civilization advocates the middle way and moderation, encourages inclusiveness and mutual learning, opposes clash of civilizations, and is deeply rooted in its rich culture and history. Be it on the world political, economic or cultural map, Arab states always claim an important place.

Since the 1950s, China has established diplomatic relations with all Arab states. Their interactions feature mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual assistance and solidarity. They have become good friends treating each other as equals, good partners pursuing mutual benefit, and good brothers sharing weal and woe.

In the 21st century, China-Arab relations have continued to move ahead against a fluid international landscape, and achieved historic leapfrog growth in political trust, mutually beneficial economic cooperation, and cultural mutual learning in both breadth and depth.

In the past decade, China-Arab relations entered a new era and registered a series of landmark and groundbreaking achievements in various areas. Collectively, China has established a future-oriented strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common development with all Arab states. Individually, China has established comprehensive strategic partnership or strategic partnership with 12 Arab states, and signed documents on Belt and Road cooperation with 20 Arab states. Among Arab countries, 17 have expressed support for the Global Development Initiative (GDI), 15 have become members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and 14 have participated in the China-League of Arab States Cooperation Initiative on Data Security.

Arab states firmly support the one-China principle and support China in safeguarding its core interests. Likewise, China supports Arab states in upholding sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. On issues such as the Palestinian question, China's firm support for Arab states has been consistent and unwavering. Major infrastructure projects jointly built by the two sides, including the Djamaa El Djazair mosque of Algeria, the Lusail Stadium of Qatar, the new headquarters of the Central Bank of Kuwait, as well as the Merowe Dam, the Roseires Dam heightening, and the Upper Atbara Dams Complex Project of Sudan, have become landmarks of China-Arab friendship.

China has set up 20 Confucius institutes and two Confucius classrooms in Arab states. And over 40 Chinese universities teach Arabic as a major, contributing inexhaustible energy for growing China-Arab friendship. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Arab states have come to each other's aid and navigated through the difficulties together. The two sides have carried out efficient cooperation in such areas as vaccine research and application, joint epidemic prevention and control, experience sharing, medical services and pharmaceuticals, setting a fine example of solidarity in fighting the virus. Under the framework of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, 17 cooperation mechanisms have been launched to expand and substantiate the cooperation agenda, giving a strong boost to China-Arab relations and providing a paradigm for the solidarity and cooperation among developing countries.

The world is now undergoing momentous changes unseen in a century. Both China and Arab states face the historic mission of realizing national rejuvenation and speeding up national development. In this new context, China will work with Arab states to carry forward the traditional friendship and jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era. China and Arab states will continue to hold high the banner of non-interference in internal affairs, firmly support each other in safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity, and jointly uphold international fairness and justice. We will continue to enhance together Belt and Road cooperation, keep expanding practical cooperation in such areas as food, energy, investment, financing and medical services, and pursue mutually beneficial cooperation with higher quality and in greater depth.

We will continue to jointly act on the GDI and the Global Security Initiative so as to stabilize volatile regions and contribute more positive energy to peace and development. We will continue to jointly advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom – the common values of humanity, strive to replace estrangement and clash of civilizations with exchanges and mutual learning, promote understanding and affinity between our peoples, and build "a garden of civilizations" featuring mutual appreciation and inspiration.